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Monday, January 26, 2015

Quiet Time: What Does Personal Bible Study Look Like?

Personal Bible Study
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove) 

Quiet Time: What Does Personal Bible Study Look Like?


Why should Christians spend quiet time every day in personal Bible Study?

As Christians, we value church attendance.  We are likely active in Bible Fellowship classes, the new name in many churches for what we always knew as Sunday School.  We attend Bible study classes on Wednesday nights perhaps, or maybe other times throughout the week.  We study our Bibles in worship services and small groups on a regular basis, but it is also important to spend time alone in God’s Word.

 God’s Word is Personal


We should spend time alone in God’s word every day because His Word is personal.  The Bible has been referred to as God’s love letter to His children.  God speaks to our hearts – personally – when we spend time alone in His Word, without the distractions of everyday life.   God tells us in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.  Before you were born, I set you apart.”  Our Father knew us before He formed us in our mother’s wombs and He has a special plan for our lives.  He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a future and a hope.”  God knows us personally and has a plan for us.  When we spend time alone with Him, He reveals Himself and His plan for us.  We can hear Him more clearly when we are free from distractions.

We Remember What We Were Taught

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. ~ 1 Timothy 3:14-17

We should spend time in Bible Study each day so we are constantly reminded through God’s Word the values we have been taught.

 That We Might Not Sin Against God

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.~ Psalm 119:11
When we spend quiet time in God’s Word and we allow Him to speak to our hearts, our relationship with Him grows more deeply, that we might not sin against Him.

 What Does a Quiet Time Look Like?


The best time to spend quiet time in God’s Word is in the morning, early, before we do anything else.  This sets the mood for the day.  When we begin our day in the Word, with God’s personal message to us on our hearts and minds, we start our day off in the best possible way.  Then, when life wakes up and our day transforms into our crazy normal, we can handle life’s challenges more gracefully.  However, the important thing is that we spend this valuable personal time with Him.  I know mornings are the best times, but my personal quiet times often look different from one day to the next.

Personal Bible Study
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
When I spend time in Bible Study in the mornings, it looks something like this.  Usually, my bed is unmade and I’m still bundled up under the covers but I spruced up the scene a bit for you.  Sometimes I simply open up the Bible and read it, randomly.  Sometimes, I use a devotional as a guide and go through a series on a particular Bible study topic.

Personal Bible Study
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
When the house is quiet and I am the only one home, I might choose to spend my quiet time alone in God’s Word in my living room.  On a nearby table are two very old Bibles.  One belongs to my great grandmother and one belongs to my husband’s grandmother.  The one in this photo belonged to my great grandmother.  She wrote notes all throughout the Bible and inside the cover is a message she wrote about my upcoming birth.  Occasionally, I use her old Bible to compare her old King James translation to my New American Standard translation.

Personal Bible Study
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
Sometimes life gets crazy before my day even starts or maybe the craziness is left over from the day before.  Sometimes the house is a mess and the only quiet place I can find is on the floor, but God speaks to my heart during these times too.  When I must choose a spot on the floor because the furniture is piled up with laundry and toys, I prefer a spot by the fireplace.  I prefer a spot by the gas fireplace in another room, but our new electric fireplace works too.

Personal Bible Study
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
When the weather is warmer, another place I like to go to spend time in Bible study is the back deck.  Back there, the view of the North Georgia mountains is beautiful.  As I read the Bible, I like to look up and reflect on God’s beautiful creation.

Personal Bible Study
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
Just last week, I managed to capture this beautiful sunrise from my front porch.  In the summer time, this is another nice place for personal Bible study.  This is a particularly good outdoor spot for morning Bible study because the sunrises are almost always gorgeous.  This place provides the perfect atmosphere for starting the day with a personal quiet time.


You'll find this post and other great posts here at the Faith 'n Friends Friday Link-Up. Come check out all the great posts!
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Quiet Time:  What Does Personal Bible Study Look Like?
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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse

My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
One of my preschoolers came in this morning carrying her new “My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse.”  She was so excited about it so I asked her to tell me all about it.  This adorable little book is shaped like a purse and has a handle cut out at the top so she can carry it around like a purse.  Inside are pages and pages filled with stickers (over 500 according to the label), coloring pages, and activities to complete.

My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse


My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
With “My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse,” children learn about the the clock and telling time.


My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
Children use the stickers in the book to complete pages such as this one about baking a cake and lots of other activities.

My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
Pages like this one teach simple addition with lots of colorful and attractive pictures for children to count.


My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
This page teaches children to recognize and complete patterns.

My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
This page teaches numbers 1-8.  Children add stickers to the page as they count the items in each row.

My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
  
The “My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse” book is packed full of attractive pages for reading, writing, coloring, doodling, counting, recognizing and completing patterns, and tons of sticker fun.  Children will have so much fun decorating pages filled with insects, animals, castles, musical instruments, sweet treats, flowers -all the things that make life sweet.  In addition to coloring and writing, peeling and placing stickers throughout the book provides a lot of exercise for those important small motor skills.  Kids will have so much fun completing this book, they won’t even realize how much their vocabulary and numbers skills are improving.

This book is published by Make Believe Ideas, ltd. (c) 2011.  It is recommended for ages 3 and up.  The label on the back cover reads:  Parental Guidance Suggested.  Promotes hand-eye coordination.  Stimulates imaginative play. 

My Perfectly Purple Sticker and Doodling Purse
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Monday, January 12, 2015

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts

Upon arrival this morning, one of my preschoolers informed me that his Nana’s birthday is today and both his daddy and his meme celebrate their birthdays tomorrow.  He wanted to make them a special card.  We love doing footprint and handprint keepsake crafts so we did an internet search for ideas.  We found so many cute examples so we decided to do several of our own.

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
We started painting his foot.

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
  Then, we pressed his painted foot onto white paper.
Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
We chose several colors and after several minutes, we had enough foot prints and handprints to make several keepsake crafts.

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
 This is our footprint tractor.

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
 Our Footprint Lion

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
Our Snowman
 
Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
 Our Penguin

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
 Our Bee

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
 
Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
Our Butterfly

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
Our Fish

This is the one my little guy chose to give to his daddy for his birthday gift.
Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
We chose this card for his Nana.  We made the same card for his Meme, but with a different color card.  I pasted white paper on the inside so my little guy could draw his Nana and his Meme a special birthday picture, which he did.

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove)
We found an example of a handprint birthday cake we liked.  We didn’t use it for a birthday card today, but we made one anyway just because we liked it.

Helpful Hint:  When painting the child’s hand, remember NOT to paint the thumb for this particular handprint keepsake craft.  The four fingers make nice candles but the thumb just sort of sticks out – all out of place.  I learned this the hard way.  I ended up cutting out the handprint, cutting off the thumb, and then pasting it onto solid colored paper.  Maybe we will save this one for the next special day in his family.

Footprint and handprint crafts are also great for other special days such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter and Christmas cards.  Valentine’s Day is coming up so these ideas are perfect for parent and grandparent Valentine’s Day cards.  They are great for aunts and uncles too!

Another footprint and handprint keepsake option is to use a mold to create stepping stones, table top, or wall decorations.  I have created several handprint and footprint molds using different materials.  Plaster of Paris is OK, but it is very fragile.  If you are familiar with ceramics, you can make a ceramic handprint mold.  We have also poured cement into pie pans and then pressed hands and feet into the cement to create keepsake molds.  Cement molds work well.  They are durable and you can paint them to make them more attractive, but they are also heavy.

Footprint and Handprint Keepsake Crafts
Flower Craft for Spring